Forgotten but never Forgiven
by ShasyAusAngel
Summary: Forgiving and forgetting is never an easy thing to do, and holding a grudge is somthing the X5's are great at!.- Zack/Max - Woohoo i updated!
1. Default Chapter

Authors note: Hey guys! Yep you guess it! Its another Zack regained his memories fic!. Basically nothing happened after AJBAC ( coz that's all we here in Australia have seen) so its pretty much an AU plot, except for the whole Zack being reprogrammed and coming back to kill Logan thing. Oh but in saying that, because I do live in Australia and we are a season behind America, I haven't actually been formerly introduced to Alec yet, nor any of the other characters that appear in season two, so in this fic its kinda assumed that the episode with Zack trying to kill Logan and then Max and Logan putting Zack on a farm went ahead, but there was no Alec or other characters involved, which is a shame coz I hear Alec's absolutely gorgeous! Sorry peeps! :O) Anyways. This is my thoughts on how things would have gone had Zack regained his memory. And no, its not all about him going and trying to murder Logan again coz I think that's a load of crap. This focuses on the effect his disappearance would have had on the other X5's and how Zack himself handles the knowledge that Max sent him to live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and pretty much forgot about him.  
  
Ok, I know it sounds confusing but trust me, it'll all work out eventually. Oh and please review and tell me what ya think! Im not to sure if the whole idea actually works yet, and would be ever so grateful for some outside opinions! Enjoy ;O)  
  
  
  
Forgotten, but Never Forgiven.  
  
  
  
Chapter One.  
  
  
  
"No!" Adam Thompson sat bolt upright in his bunk, sweat trickling down his face as his mind worked overtime to clear his head of the nightmares that had surfaced unbidden in his sleep. 'Nightmares' he thought, shaking his head. These were nothing like nightmares. Nightmares were made up of weird out of this world scary images, they were things that you would wake up in the morning from and go 'hey that was a scary dream' then completely forget about and go on with your day. But the dreams he had, they were too familiar, to real. And when he woke up in the morning, he couldn't get them out of his mind. Even during the day there was something there, some little niggling feeling in the back of his mind that he couldn't quite seem to access. It had started about a week ago, when, at different intervals throughout the day, Adam would pause from his work, feeling strongly that he had forgotten something or that there was something else he was supposed to be doing. Numerous times he had questioned his workmates, even Buddy, double checking that every task had been completed, but he still couldn't shake the feeling. And nighttimes were worse. Every night he had found it increasingly harder to sleep, each time being kept awake by that nagging panicky feeling that something had been left undone. Even when he had fallen asleep, out of utter exhaustion, the nightmare-ish images would once again return to haunt him, and tonight had been no different. The images had returned, though more prominent that other nights, and, realizing this, Adam knew that it was time. That he was close, and that if he could only manage to "tap" into that feeling he had, he would unlock those memories that danced just out of reached in the back of his mind. He would be given his life back. Adam hung his head in his hands and calmed himself, now not fighting but accepting the flashes of life he remembered, letting them take control of his mind and, he hoped, restore him to the person he once used to be.  
  
***  
  
X5 599, these are your charges.You, are their CO'  
  
***  
  
"Eyes front soldier!"  
  
***  
  
Visions of young children, shaved heads and round eyes in a white and blue world. His charges.  
  
***  
  
"They're called names. My names Syl"  
  
***  
  
"Zack im scared"  
  
***  
  
"Where's Jack?"  
  
***  
  
"This ones defective. Prep him for examination"  
  
***  
  
"We can't sleep. Bens telling stories again".  
  
***  
  
"Don't worry Max. I won't let them take you"  
  
***  
  
Adam sat upright once again, breathing heavily as he struggled to take in his surroundings. Standing, he tried shaking his head to clear the images but only ended up doubling up in pain as more memories ruthlessly bombarded his mind and visions of snow and ice and children running for their lives became his world once again …  
  
***  
  
"Once we get over the fence we'll be free"  
  
***  
  
"Zack! You made it out!"  
  
***  
  
"This world is so beautiful, don't you think?"  
  
***  
  
"They are called parents. I have a Mother and Father"  
  
***  
  
"I've missed you!"  
  
***  
  
"Zack, it's me, I decided on going to college. Dunno where yet, but the teacher says I'm smart enough to get into just about anywhere I want. Ha, if only she knew! Right! Anyways, catch ya later"  
  
***  
  
"Z, I'm in a teeny bit of trouble. Apparently borrowing someone's car for a couple of days is not allowed. Reckon you could show up and help me out?"  
  
***  
  
"They've found my location. I need you down here A.S.A.P. "  
  
***  
  
"Consider it a moment of weakness"  
  
***  
  
"Zack! I knew you'd come"  
  
***  
  
"Get in the game soldier"  
  
***  
  
"Do I know you?"  
  
  
  
As dawn washed over the horizon, bathing everything in color, Zack looked up and around, as if seeing everything for the first time. "How could she" he growled as he pushed himself up from the floor where he had collapsed and, holding his head, groggily but quickly began packing his things. 


	2. Chapter Two

Authors note: G'day mates! Hope every one is feeling better than I am at the mo! As per usual, its winter over here and I have once again joined the millions of Australians that could not possibly continue their daily lives without some sort of 'Flu medicine! But the fog in my head is a little clearer, and I was able to revise and rewrite this chapter, so to those who did manage to read this in the whole half a day that it was originally posted, you get the almighty pleasure of reading it again! :O)  
  
To everyone who reviewed : words cannot express how grateful I am , you are the people who convinced me to keep going with this story and I dedicate it to you!  
  
As for the pairings in this story, im not really sure who Zack will eventually hook up with, but it will definitely be either Johndy or Max. Other pairings will include Krit/Syl & Zane/Tess. Ok. There is just one question I have been puzzling over, If 12 X5's escaped that night, including Zack, then when he paired everyone off wouldn't there have been one person left to run by themselves seeing as Zack didn't have a partner? I dunno, maybe im totally wrong. But any info or corrections would be greatly appreciated! ;O)  
  
  
  
Forgotten but never Forgiven.  
  
Chapter Two.  
  
  
  
Mary stretched and yawned sleepily, gazing out the window at the gorgeous sunrise which had appeared only minutes earlier. Glancing at a movement near the front drive, she froze as she recognized Adam, striding purposefully out the front gates. "where was he off to so early in the morning" she wondered, a shiver of apprehension beginning its slow journey down her spine as she watched Adam glance around and as he motioned his head in her direction, she caught a glimpse of his face. "Buddy" she whispered, reaching out to shake her husband awake. "Buddy I think we might have a problem" turning she searched the place where she had seen Adam standing only moments earlier, only to find he had vanished. "Those eyes" she thought worriedly as his vanishing did nothing but confirm her suspicions. Those eyes were all she had needed to see, for they remained the color of darkness, where even the morning sun did not dare reach, and Mary knew Adam wasn't coming back.  
  
"How could she" Zack growled angrily as he swiftly strode through the trees of the surrounding farmland, quickly putting as much distance as possible between himself and that shithole of a place Max had sent him to. Rage encompassed his entire being as Zack thought about the implications his absence would have held for the other X5's. He remembered that before the attack on Manticore went down, he had especially been worried about two of the others, Johndy and Zane. Since he had jeopardized their lives by stupidly making the mistake of giving their whereabouts to Lydecker and only narrowly getting word through to them ( via Eyes Only) to relocate, Manticore had continued to pose a threat and had always been close behind both x5's. "Damn Max" he muttered as he now began to increase his speed, caution thrown to the wind as he raced across country toward the nearest town.  
  
"Stupid" Zack mumbled again as he drove quickly along the small country roads in his newly borrowed car, 'How could he have been so stupid'. Looking back at what had gone down before Max had electrocuted him, Zack was now just as angry with himself as he was with her. He had trusted her, and had let his guard down in the process even though he knew she was a rouge and that she was reckless. By letting his emotions cloud his judgment he was now paying the price, and through him, he had also ensured that the rest of the X5's paid too. As far as he could tell from the newest of his memories, at least two of his unit was very likely recaptured, if not dead, and he had no clue about the others. Cursing again Zack pressed his foot hard on the accelerator, running his hand through his hair distractedly. Last he remembered, Kai was still working on a big case in a small town law firm in Memphis. Krit and Syl he knew had assisted in the attack on Manticore but he had no idea whether they had made it out alive or not. And Tess was living somewhere on the coast of L.A. That left him with only Max as a certainty for still being alive, and he was 99.9 percent sure that she was still shacked up in Seattle and as involved in her own little life as ever. Checking the sign that flashed by, Zack calculated that if he drove continuously he had a two and a half day journey until he could get to a reasonable starting point for his recovery mission. 'Perfect' he thought grimly 'You couldn't have made it any harder for me if you tried'…  
  
Tapping his hands on the wheel impatiently Zack found it almost impossible to concentrate as his mind kept drifting back to the last few time he had seen Max, and he cursed himself once again for being so blind. He was bitterly disappointed in her as a brother and as a friend. 'How could she have given up so easily?' 'All because he had posed a minor threat to her boyfriend?'. The way he saw it, Max had pretty much gotten rid of him , deciding that he would have taken up to much of her precious time to try and help and instead enlisted the help of Logan to send him as far away from them both as possible. Zack figured, the way this chip thing in his head worked, when he had been electrocuted and the chip *wiped clean* All the data that Manticore had uploaded into the chip and used to brainwash him had also been deleted. And if he really thought about it, to brainwash him in the first place they had to short circuit the chip anyways seeing as the chips purpose was to rebuild his old memories and Manticore had needed the chip to formulate a whole new set of memories. So when Max had the doctors shut the chip off and then activate it again, the chip had continued to function normally. Without anybody around to create another short circuit it had done its job and slowly begun to rebuild Zacks original memories. Zack had pretty much figured that that was what must have happened when he realized he remembered everything that had happened after the brainwashing, and that now when he thought of Logan, he didn't have that overwhelming urge to kill the idiot. Maybe just the urge to knock some sense into the man for constantly keeping Max and her identity exposed, but apart from that, which he knew he had always felt, the only new feelings he had were of anger and disappointment whenever he thought of what Max had done to him and he figured any normal guy would have those kinds of feelings after being put out to pasture on a farm in the middle of nowhere for god knows how long.  
  
That night Zack decided he had put a good amount of distance between himself and that farm and pulled off the road into a quiet little gas station, parking next to their public phone. He figured this was as good a place as any to start and in order to do that, he needed to check his messages… 


	3. Chapter Three

Forgotten but never Forgiven  
  
  
  
Chapter Three.  
  
  
  
Checking his surroundings with forever watchful eyes, Zack hurriedly punched in the numbers and listened as the message bank was activated and the electronic voice informed him he had 10 messages…  
  
"Zack, Its Tess just doing the usual check in, Im out of L.A and heading south. Call me if ya have any suggestions about living arrangements. Anyways looking forward to seeing you. Where have you been? Not that you'll answer that. Just drop by and say hi sometime soon. Bye!" Zack relaxed a fraction on hearing Tess' warm voice He remembered she liked to paint the sea, and knew that she would head down the coastline.  
  
"Zack, its Zane. Listen, I don't think ill be able to hang round here to much longer either. I've got this real uneasy feeling. They're here, I'm sure of it. Are you in the area?"  
  
"It's Kai. I'm still in Boston and will be for a while longer. My numbers still the same."  
  
"I need you down here ASAP. I can't seem to shake the slimy buggers. Help me!" Zacks fist clenched around the receiver and he stood listening to the messages, the latest one from Johndy and an earlier one from Zane left him with little belief that they now remained free.  
  
"Zack, its Tess. I just spoke to Zane, something's up. I think they are still on his trail. Where are you? Should I go and check it out?"  
  
"Zack I'm sorry I ditched you in Canada, I just couldn't do it. I'm heading back to Charlie and Case. Take care"  
  
"Zack get your ass down here now!"  
  
" Zack? Tess again, Im gonna try and make my way down to help Zane out. They've found him and I don't think he's got much of a chance against them alone, though I don't know how much help I'll be. I think im sick. I don't really know what sick feels like, but im just so tired. Anyways that's not important. I gotta help Zane and we need you. Please meet me there? Please be there when I get there. I know you must be busy seeing as you haven't been in touch with me or Zane but we need you Zack"  
  
"Zack darling. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind perhaps paying me a visit sometime soon? I seem to be in a spot of bother and would be ever so grateful if you could help me out"  
  
Zack winced as he listened to the sickly sweet voice of Johndy and the worried feeling in his gut started to spread. Johndy was panicked, and to get Johndy to panic was no easy feat and coupled with the urgency in Tess' voice was enough to make his blood run cold. The sound of the last message being played snapped him out of his thoughts.  
  
"Zack, I know you will never hear this, I know that you're gone and im sorry for not being able to get you and Maxie out. I'm so so sorry…"  
  
Zack stood immobilized for seconds after the sound of Syls' sobbing died away and the electronic voice informed him the last message had been recorded on the 22 of June 2021. Shaking his head Zack began his walk through the parking lot. That last message was at least three months ago. which meant that both Johndy and Zane had been in some serious shit three months ago and he hadn't turned up to help them out. Even after listening to every message, he still had no exact way of contacting any of his brothers or sisters though he knew that they all kept in contact with at least one other sibling. If he could just find one person, he was certain he could find them all.  
  
Frowning, Zack realized that his earlier thoughts of never seeing Max or Logan again were going to have to wait until after he had found the locations of all of the other X5's. Slammed the door of his newly borrowed ride shut he swiftly exited the parking lot, heading in the ever familiar direction of Seattle.  
  
  
  
"Ooh check out the honeys in here tonight" Original Cindy cooed as she and Max located Sketchy and Herbal and made their way through the crowded room of Crash to their seats. "Hey guys" Sketchy bubbled, looking up over his fifth drink. "What took you so long? Me an Herbal here had to start without you" he smiled, taking another swig of his beer and slapping Herbal on the back. "Hey guys, whats doin?" Max smiled as she watched Herbal roll his eyes heavenward and gestured towards the empty pitcher. "I guess ill get us some more drink"  
  
Ordering another pitcher from the bar, Max sat back and watched as O.C sent another smile in the direction of a group of the ladies playing pool. 'Damn that girl don't waste any time' she thought as the barman handed her the drinks. Sighing, she made her way back to the group and placed the refilled pitcher on their table, automatically scanning the room as she did so. Glancing in the direction of the entrance Max stilled as her eye fell on the lean figure that stood just inside the doors. Blond cropped hair fell in angry dark blue eyes and tensed muscle bound arms folded over leather jacket and jean clad body. "Zack?" Max breathed as she watched him meet her gaze and motion toward the doorway, turning and walking through it as he did so.  
  
Hesitantly, Max slowly worked her way back through the crowded room, panic filling her body. How much did he remember? What was she going to say? Taking a deep breath. She figured feigning indifference was the best way to go and formed her most charming smile as she stepped out onto the street and moved over to where Zack stood waiting.  
  
"Hey man, I don't know what your dealio is, but ive taken it upon myself to inform you that if that's your way of picking up ch.."  
  
"Cut the crap Max" Zack spat, glaring over at her as he began to stride down the street away from the bustle and noise of crash. Max's smile faltered as her mouth opened and she stared at him, wondering how exactly to deal with him. Still sticking to the never seen you before in my life routine, Max caught up to him and tried again. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Stopping and turning to face her with arms crossed, Zack sneered as he watched Max struggle with her obvious dilemma. "I'm Zack, you're Max" he said slowly, pointing firstly to himself and then to Max. Lowering his voice till only he and Max could hear, he continued, "both you and I are X5, we escaped from a place called Manticore along with 10 others. Your boyfriends name is Logan A.K.A Eyes only, and both you and he electrocuted me and sent me to live on a farm in the middle of nowhere with amnesia. Am I jogging your memory a bit now?" he asked, and he watched Max's expression turn from confusion to panic and then finally to a guarded relief. "Zack, are you sure you're ok?" she replied quietly almost afraid that by saying his name out loud she would release the monster she had known him to be the last time they had met.  
  
"You mean am I sure I'm not going to go and murder your boyfriend?" Zack corrected  
  
"Well are you?" Max asked accusingly, the spark of fire in her eyes at the remark nothing compared to the inferno in Zacks as he stared down at her.  
  
"That's not whats important right now." He snapped, he did not have time to do this now. "What is, is finding the location of the rest of our siblings so I can help them out. And the way I figured, seeing as you or your boy Logan were the last to see Krit and Syl, you would have kept in contact with them. I need you to tell me where they are."  
  
"Yeh? Well you're out of luck." Max shot back regaining most of her composure after the initial shock of seeing him. She was beginning to not like his tone. "I wasn't able to keep in contact with either of them seeing as I was kinda busy being reprogrammed back at manticore" Max replied scathingly, her old attitude now fully in place.  
  
"What?" Zack growled, long and low, the sound of his voice enough to make Max look up in alarm. Never before had Zack ever turned his anger directly on her, and now looking at the barely restrained emotion playing over his features, she understood why he was considered such a formidable opponent as now she bore the full brunt of it and despite herself, Max found she had taken a step back. "Bullshit. You made it out ok. You could have found them." He hissed, moving forward and backing her up against the brick wall, his face only inches from hers, where all she could do was gaze up into the turbulent sea of anger that flowed though his eyes. "You send me to the ends of the earth because you couldn't be bothered to help me, then you just forget to make sure everyone else is ok?"  
  
"I didn't forget you Zack, there was no other way of helping you"  
  
"Did you ever stop to wonder who was going to help the others while you were so busy thinking you were helping me?" he asked, then seeing she had no reply he added, "No I guess not".  
  
Max looked up sharply at the disappointment she heard in his voice. Seeds of wory and apprehension beginning to spread through her as she began to realize the reason for this conversation. "What happened?" She asked meekly and then flinched as his hand slammed into the wall inches from her head. "Zane and Johdny are most likely captured, or dead, or both, Tess is sick, and I have no idea of the whereabouts of the others." He paused, running his hand though his hair "that's what happened". Pushing himself away from the wall and away from her, Zack turned, leaving a motionless Max staring after him. "Zack wait" she called desperately, watching him pause and turn her way. "Maybe Logan could help you find what you need?" Hope filled her voice and then left quickly as she watched Zacks jaw clench. "No thanks Max. " he tossed over his shoulder as he continued walking. "I don't think ill be needing anymore of yours or Logan's help"  
  
Max slowly slid down the wall she had been leaning against, landing with a thump on the ground and wrapping her arms around her knees, for the first time realizing the full extent her actions would have had on the others "What have I done" she whispered, her mind filled with images of her tortured brothers and sisters, their pain and suffering caused because of her and her ignorance.  
  
  
  
  
  
Authors note: hello all! I know its been a while but it took me ages to actually figure out where I wanted this story to go and how exactly I was going to get it moving. I don't really like the ending to this chapter but you should all get the drift…oh and another thing, I only got three reviews for the last two chapters and am wondering whether its even worth going on with?. Please review and tell me what you all think!  
  
P.S: Its my birthday tomorrow! Yay! Happy birthday to me! :O) 


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: Okay. i've been looking back over this fic and found that the grammar and layout of this chapter was really really bad. so I kinda edited it a bit. hope it's a bit easier to read now :O)  
  
Forgotten but Never Forgiven  
  
Chapter Four  
  
It was nearly dawn by the time Zack reached Boston. Here he had what some people would have called a "home" but what merely was to him a place he kept a spare change of clothes and his Triptophan and was a place he could rest and cool his heels, before heading out on his next round of visits. Now, standing and looking up toward the apartment window that he knew was the one he owned, he sighed. This was the place he used to go to when things got hard. When all he would wish for was to be alone, (which wasn't every often seeing as he had a job to do and doing that job and keeping his siblings safe and out of trouble meant more to him that any pointless feelings he had) but just these sometimes he would grace the apartment with his presence, showing up in the dead of the night and collapsing on the double bed, exhausted from his efforts, or wounded and bleeding from his latest bouts of fleeing from Lydecker, where he would rest for the day or two he allowed himself .  
  
And sure, the others knew about this place. There was never any chance that Zack could ever not be reached by some wayward sibling. Some had even stayed there when invited, for their own various reasons, but as time went on and it seemed Zack had no intention of giving up the place, they had begun to see it as Zacks home, even though he denied being tied down to one place time and time again, he just was never able to leave and move on.  
  
Gravel crunched under his feet as he easily sprang from ground level to the fourth floor high drainpipe to which he remained clinging to, scaling it straight up to his tenth floor apartment window. Placing both hands on the sill and slowly and soundlessly pushing the window upwards, Zack, from his vantage point on the side of the building was surprised to find the window unlocked as he had left it and the apartment seemingly empty and uninhabited. A musty, stuffy smell reached his sensitive nose as he dropped softly from the sill to the floorboards, every one of his senses on high alert and his body ready to spring into action at a moments notice.  
  
Running a focused eye over everything in sight Zack was pleased to find nothing had been disturbed and not letting himself relax he forced himself to focus on making his way across the room when he picked up the sound of someone stumbling loudly towards his door from out in the hallway. Quickly making himself invisible in the shadows of the large lounge room Zack watched as the handle to the front door slowly turned and then watched it stop, the next minute watching the entire door being kicked in by the intruder upon finding it locked. Not fazed, though every muscle prepared for anything, Zack remained where he was, watching the shadow of the intruder grow larger against the floorboards till he was just about insight.  
  
Kind of half collapsing against the splintered doorframe, a baseball cap obscuring his face and his identity, he faintly heard the intruder mumble a "sorry Zack" before turning away and dragging his seemingly uncooperative body towards the kitchen away from where Zack was hidden, leaving once again alone in the room.  
  
'Okay' Zack thought, raising his eyebrow in a 'what the hell' gesture. If this was some sort of attack and the person that had stumbled through the door really was part of a team sent by manticore to recapture him, then this had to be the stupidest attack strategy he had ever witnessed. Shaking his head Zack began moving quietly in the direction the intruder had gone, now hearing the crashing of his frantic rummaging in the kitchen. Taken back, and less than sure about what was going to happen Zack crept towards the kitchen entrance. Whoever this guy was, he decided he needed to take the offensive and get him outta there so he could get on with things.  
  
Gliding quickly and quietly to the doorway Zack could now see the back of the intruder as he was turned in the process of emptying everything from a shelf onto the floor and who still showed no signs, apart from apologizing for kicking Zacks door down, that he even knew he was there.  
  
'The man looks pretty sick' Zack mused, watching the way the mans whole body seemed to be shaking, and who was obviously having a tough time keeping himself upright while foraging through the kitchen draws. "Or. maybe just drunk' he figured, deciding either way it was about time to find out who the guy was and why he knew about him. Stepping in through the doorway, Zacks carefully placed foot pushed down on the floorboard, making a barely audible creaking sound which the intruder caught and, whipping himself around so quickly that if Zack hadn't been a genetically enhanced super soldier he would have missed the action entirely he flung his muddy boot up, barely missing contact with Zacks face as both men froze, Zacks mind breifley flicking back to the last time he had been staring a boot in the face and he mentally rolled his eyes as recognition now dawned on each mans face, both realizing exactly who the other was.  
  
"Krit?"  
  
"Zack" Krit exclaimed, the confusion on his face contorting to pain as he doubled over infront of Zack, who remained frozen as his younger brother, overcome by seizures, collapsed in convulsions on the floor. 


	5. Chapter Five

Woo Hoo! I finally met Alec! And he IS absolutely gorgeous! Go Season Two in Australia! YAY!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Forgotten But Never Forgiven  
  
  
  
Chapter Five  
  
" How" Krit managed to grind out through chattering teeth, looking up at Zack like the long lost brother he was. Zack had taken one look at the fallen X5 and turned and hurried to the lounge room where, hidden in a hollowed out book in his bookcase, Zack kept his supply of tryptophan. Hurrying back through to the kitchen, he knelt down beside Krit, an extremely worried expression pasted on his stone like face.  
  
"How long had you been holding them off for?" Zack murmured, referring to Krits seizures he figured by hos bad they were that he had had to fight them for quite a while as he watched Krit down a handful, wincing. Too caught up in controlling his shaking body, Krit leaned his head back against the cupboard door, continually keeping an eye on His older brother crouched beside him, and waited for the seizures to subside.  
  
****************************  
  
"This time we almost figured you were dead"  
  
!5 mins later, Krits seizures had eased and he was now staring at Zack with the typical expression of someone who was looking at a ghost showing clearly on his face. Zack looked down at his hands, a sad smile full of hidden emotion playing across his lips. "Yeh well, this time I thought you really had gone crazy when you started apologizing for kicking my door down" Zack replied, his weak attempt at lightening the mood completely lost on Krit who now started frowning. "Zack I just came from trying to find Zane" he started, immediately gaining Zacks full attention. " I finally found the apartment he had been living in last" Krit paused, sighing deeply, "it was completely trashed. By the looks of it something major went down there." He paused again, looking directly at Zack " I think Manticore got him".  
  
Zack sat back slowly running a hand through his already tousled blonde hair. He had thought as much. " I remember before we attacked Manticore that they were almost closing in on both Johndy and Zane" He said. "There were a couple of close calls but in the end I thought we had lost them". Zack shook his head, lost in the newer memories of his younger sister and brother, and the images his mind conjured up of them now back at Manticore. Krit sat, gazing at his brother, even through the fog that still clouded his mind from the seizures, he recognized the tired look about him. This wasn't unusual for Zack, for he had often looked something like this after being on the go for months on end. 'But this was different' Krit mused, noting the slumped shoulders and bowed heard, Zack was not only exhausted but he was also haunted. 'Stressed to the max' Krit thought.  
  
"What happened to you Zack?" Krit asked soflty, placing a hand on Zacks shoulder, causing Zack to jump in surprise.  
  
"Nothing important" Zack stated, standing up and beginning to pace the room, shrugging Krits hand off as he stood. " Im back, and now we need to focus on finding the others"  
  
Nodding, Krit agreed," That's pretty much what Syl and I had begun to do over the last couple of months. While I went to find Zane, Syl went up and visited Kai" He watched Zack steadily as he turned and made another lap of the room, processing the information at the same time. Zack frowned as a fresh memory assaulted him, Images of a young boy, dressed as they all were back at Manticore, with Red shaved hair and that hollowed soldier expression flashed though his mind. Zack remembered feeling proud of Kai, him being the second oldest male, and also because so far he hade made the perfect soldier. Ruthless, seemingly uncaring, but extremely loyal to the team and the mission at the same time. He remembered being very proud of the fact that Kai was the first to master his feelings, to appear indifferent to emotion and feelings, and able to concentrate solely on the mission at hand. Shaking the memory away Zack sat back down, his eyes still hooded with that far away look. " I remember Kai and Syl were paired up when we escaped, Syl is really the only one of us that he ever really speaks to now" Glancing up at Krit " And obviously you and Syl are still close" He added raising an eyebrow in his brothers direction.  
  
Nodding, Krit got right back to the point, bringing Zacks thought of his siblings back to the task at hand. " While I was looking around Zanes place I found a note that Tess had written with her new address and number. So that's one more sister we can get in touch with".  
  
" He had her address written down?" Zack asked, an alarm bell starting to ring in his head.  
  
" Though I don't think there was much chance of them seeing the note when they raided Zanes place" Krit answered, reading the worried look on Zacks face.  
  
" Whys that?"  
  
"It was under the fridge" Krit said grimly. Images of the state of Zanes apartment running through his head. He had checked the whole place. There had been bullet holes etched into almost every wall, some from what he knew was Zanes gun, and a lot from others, and there had been blood.  
  
"How did you find it?" Zacks slightly edgy question making him wince.  
  
" By picking the knocked over piece of crap off the floor" Krit answered. The image of the destruction enough for Zack to not ask anymore questions..  
  
  
  
Authors Note: Im sooo sorry for not updating for so long guys! I didn't mean to leave you in the lurch like that! :O) - My computer and I had an argument and then he went and refused to work so I had to send 'im to the shop for some counseling!  
  
Anyways, Thank you to everyone who wished me Happy Birthday! I felt very Spesh!  
  
Also, Sorry Alexandra Bruderlin But I ended up making it a Z/M thang. But who knows, im thinking that theres still going to be some very juicy Zack and Johndy scenes as well.  
  
Thanks ACB for clearing up my questions. That stumped me for so long. I had the biggest mental blank and couldn't figure it out. TA for helping!!!  
  
P.S - Syl and new character Kai introduced in next chapter.. :O) 


	6. Chapter Six

Forgotten But Never Forgiven  
  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
"Do you know if anyone followed you back here from Zane's place?" Zack asked, his mind never forgetting the fact that manticores men wouldn't be very far away and were still a major threat to them all.  
  
"No, no one followed me here" Krit affirmed shaking his head. "I checked all the way here, even though those last couple of kilometers I was pretty out of it, I made sure no one followed" he grimaced, he'd spent more than a couple of minutes doubling back in his tracks and using diversion tactics on his way here on the slight chance he could have been followed. And he had known by the force of his seizures he would have had to stop here for a while and rest. "Good" Zack replied, thinking to himself that he would definitely go and do a sweep of the area later on. Just to be sure. Right now though, he figured would be a good time to try and start assembling the troops. " I need to find Tess," he said, thinking out loud as he stood again. "And we gotta call Syl and get her and Kai down here ASAP". Pacing the floor he glanced at Krit and seeing the slight confusion pass across his face Zack added, "we're gonna get Johndy and Zane back."  
  
Krit nodded and half smiled, "you know big brother, I don't know what happened to you over the last few months, but what I do know now is that your finally starting to see things my way" Zack smiled grimly at his brothers words, though still visibly shaking a little, and the words express in humor, Krits expression still showed he was ready for anything about to go down and if Zack hadn't known him so well, he would never have been able to tell that Krit was absolutely exhausted. 'That was Krit' he thought, always ready to do anything you asked even if it would mean cutting off his own arm to save yours. His aggressive nature and fierce loyalty always seemed to overpower his own need to live, and in this case, rest. " Go sleep " he murmured, placing a hand on his little brothers head, a gesture the X5s all knew as comfort from their big brother, "I'll call the others" he added. Smiling briefly Krit hoisted himself off the couch but did not turn, instead facing Zack he added, " I still can't believe you're here, alive. Just when we were beginning to wonder how we were going to get out of this one without you, you show up again like you were never gone" He quickly glanced up at Zack, " I'm glad you made it out, And - " he added, looking away and shrugging " I'm sorry we didn't try to get you out sooner." Returning his gaze to his brothers face, Krit stepped forward and gave Zack a quick hug, which to his surprise, Zack returned. "I'm sorry we gave up on you brother". Zack could hear the guilt and sorrow in Krits voice. Tightening the hug for a second as if trying to assure him it wasn't his fault, Zack stepped away, placing his hand on the curve of Krit's neck and shoulder so that his fingers rested on his barcode. Looking Krit directly in the eyes, Zack's normally stern expression was full of sympathy for his brother and the torment he knew he was putting himself through. " It wasn't you fault" he said firmly then added, "Now get some rest". Krit sighed and nodded and Zack stepped away watching him turn yawning and walk exhausted to the nearest bedroom.  
  
*************************  
  
" What am I going to do all day while you're out working" Syl whined, stressing the word working and making a face that showed that just thinking about it made her want to puke. From her position upside down on the couch, legs thrown atop the headrest and blond hair hanging loosely to the floor, she watched her brother straighten his tie in the bathroom mirror, rolling his eyes at his sister's pout. " I'm sure you'll find something to keep you busy" he said absently, giving his reflection a quick glance over before stepping out into the lounge room and beginning to pack his briefcase. As if in afterthought he paused, pointing his finger at her upside down face "And don't make me regret saying that" he added using the best lawyer voice he could manage in hope of quelling her thoughts of exactly what she could get up to with a whole day to herself when he saw a corner of her mouth begin to turn upwards. Syl flashed him her most innocent smile, which on any normal human would have had them believing she was the queen mother but which only made Kai roll his eyes with a knowing sigh. "I'm serious Syl" he warned "I don't want to have to go bailing you out of another situation you could have easily avoided"  
  
"You bailed Krit out" she whined picking up a pillow and from her upside down stance throwing it in the air. " That was true" He nodded, Closing his full briefcase and reaching for his coat, adding slyly " I also kicked his ass form here to Mexico afterward. And it would be a shame to ruin that pretty face of yours" he said, ducking as a pillow went hurtling past his head. Poking her tongue out at him, Syl sat up. "Seriously though Kai, I need to talk to you. It's important. We need to decide what we are going to do next. The bad guys" she said quietly "are closing in on us all" the playful banter gone from her voice as she looked up at him.  
  
" I know." Kai agreed, putting his metallic shade sunglasses on. Shades which Syl often referred to as his 'lawyer shark shades' simply because along with his lawyer suit they completed his hard edged no nonsense attitude. " I understand what you're saying but it's got to wait till tonight. This is the biggest case that little law firm I work in has ever seen and for once I intend to be the one that's driving it instead of having to melt to the background in order not to raise any suspicion about me. Not to mention the fact that there would probably be no case if I don't get there. Those idiots I work with would have it lost and thrown out of court by lunch if it weren't for me" He sniffed then paused, looking at Syl for what must have been the first time since she had walked into his apartment earlier that morning. " We will talk when I get home, I promise" he sighed "just hang around till then" He knew that it hurt her to see him appear so indifferent towards their siblings. Hell it even hurt him sometimes. But unlike his older brother Zack, Kai figured if he was going to give this living life as a normal human thing a go then the last thing he wanted was to be constantly reminded of the fact that he was a soldier from manticore, preferring to stay out of his brothers and sisters way and focus on his own mission plan. So far he had been the most successful out of the X5's who had escaped that night, being older he had managed to get along without a family, like he knew Zack had done, living with street kids around his age in whatever kind of abandoned housing they could find. Then one day he had heard some of the kids talking about a place called school, a place that sounded a lot like where he had grown up in manticore and that, the kids said, was where you had to go to learn to be smart and afterwards get a respectable job. So he explored this option, managing to enroll himself in the local high school and had begun to learn, finding it more difficult not to stand out because of his enhanced learning abilities than to actually complete his work. From then on, whenever Zack showed up and gave him the order to move, he had made sure he enrolled in the school in his next town, eventually through the years, completing high school and moving on to college, graduating at the top of his class with a degree in law that found him a nice little lawyers job in the towns law firm. The day his first case was won Kai had felt at ease, had felt he had finally started to complete his 'mission'. He had successfully entered human society undetected and built a normal life for himself, a life that he found only came under threat when he allowed his family to get to close. He loved his sibling he knew, and, looking across at the blonde girl sitting on his lounge now he knew that he would do anything to protect them, but it was when he got to close the them that his neat little human life as a toughened lawyer in a small firm started to become that bit more transparent, and the life on the run as an escaped genetically enhanced killing machine seemed all the more in solid colour. He knew that to his brothers and sisters he seemed distant, emotionless even more so than Zack himself because of the distance he kept but he didn't mind, Whereas his siblings thrived on each others company, he was happier without it, coming to realize that their company could very well put them all in danger, compromise their positions and in the end, compromise his life.  
  
Syl sat, arms crossed, watching him. She almost let him open the door and disappear for the day when the phone rang, and groaning Kai turned away form the door and answered it. Most of the time, when someone had a phone call, it was considered common courtesy to just tune out to his or her conversation, trying (and usually failing it seemed to Syl) to not listen to the voice easily heard on the other end of the line. And this morning she was definitely not in no mood to be courteous, which was why she was already off the lounge and at his side by the time Kai, sounding shocked, asked "Zack?"..  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey all! Sorry bout the long wait, but I wrote an extra long chapter just to mak up for it! :O) Id just like to clear one thing just incase - After writing this chapter I found that mine is not the only fanfic with a character named Kai and I would like to assure writers this character is entirely original and not in any way derived from any other Kai characters.  
  
Please Review and tell me what ya think! :O) 


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Hello again! Okay guys hopefully this time I won't have to do a disappearing act on you all and I might even get around to FINISHING this bloody story! * slams fist on table in determination*  
  
Maybe you guys could um REVIEW or something. you know, if its not to much trouble.. Please?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Forgotten But Never Forgiven  
  
  
  
Chapter 7.  
  
Syl reached out and almost managed to snatch the receiver away from Kai, who still recovering from the shock, just grabbed her outstretched hand before she could get to it, giving her and angry look while listening intently to what Zack was saying. Syl took in a sharp breath when she heard Zack mention Krits seizures. She knew how bad his were sometimes and for him to stop at the apartment in Boston meant he must have been pretty desperate.  
  
"It looks as though they've got Zane" Zack murmured. Kai looked up seeing the color drain from Syl's face, his own still stern and set but the alarm showing through his gray eyes. Kai nodded, listening to Zack explain how Krit had found the apartment, the mess and the signs, which they knew, pointed to Manticore.  
  
" That's what I came up here to tell you" Syl whispered, both she and Kai quiet and apprehensive, their minds remembering every detail Zack told them.  
  
"How's Syl? Is she there?" Zack asked and Kai handed the receiver over, Syl snatched it up greedily quickly taking Kai's place by the phone.  
  
"Zack!" she said, the worry of what she had just heard forgotten for seconds at hearing his voice  
  
"Hey" Zack said, his voice changing from harsh to the warm caring tone at hearing his sister.  
  
" God Zack are you alright?" Syl asked, memories of the attack on manticore flooding her mind. " I thought you were dead" she said quietly " you were gone so long"  
  
" I'm okay Syl " Zack replied soothingly " And so is Max," he added smiling a little when he heard Syl's cry of happiness  
  
" She got out too?" she exclaimed, " Is she ok? is she there with you? How is she?" Syl could have asked a million questions, and Zack smiled listening to her try to as usual ask them all at once  
  
" She's fine" he cut her off " and no she's not here," he said not offering to explain further and Syl, knowing from experience that now was not the time, simply mumbled  
  
"Oh"  
  
"Can I talk to Kai again" he asked .Syl looked over at Kai who had been pacing behind her as he stopped and reached for the phone. She clutched it to her for a moment longer, " I miss you Zack" she whispered, " Love you"  
  
" You too" Zack replied quickly and Syl handed the phone over. " I want you and Syl to get to Seattle ASAP" Syl, staying close heard Zack begin. There was a pause and then Kai, looking at his watch asked reluctantly " your not thinking what I think your thinking are you?"  
  
Not bothering to affirm, Zack ignored the question knowing Kai wouldn't approve of the mission he was giving them, knowing he preferred to stay away from problems involving Manticore as much as possible, his strict personality focusing him on his life now as a lawyer and the soldier in him taking he mission to fit into the outside world and making it his number one priority since the escape.  
  
There was a pause as both men fell silent, then Zack simply stated " I need you with me on this Kai" and though not liking but already knowing that there was no way he wouldn't help his brother and sister out, Kai agreed  
  
" Alright Zack, I got ya back"  
  
  
  
*********************  
  
  
  
They stood for a minute, listening to the dial tone in stunned silence before Kai moved, gently placing the phone back on the hook, his mouth set in a thin line. Syl remained staring at his hand. "Zack's back" She whispered looking up at Kai.  
  
"Lets go" He muttered moving towards the door and stepping aside to collect his briefcase as Syl walked through the door. "We'll take your car" he called and rolled his eyes when he saw the downward turn of her mouth.  
  
" You're Porsche is faster" She said hopefully, her childlike hope filled face turning to him innocently.  
  
" Cant Syl, it'll blow my cover here if we get caught in it" he sighed and she paused for a moment, pondering this.  
  
" Ok" she accepted brightly " we should really get a new car anyways" she turned to wink at him " Besides, I saw a sweet little ride down the street that should do the job"  
  
" Not Tim Ferguson's Jag'" Kai groaned, knowing the soft top leather interior sports car was too much for Syl to resist. " He lives for that car. And he's a good guy Syl, he'll be heartbroken" He grumbled, taking a last glance around the apartment he had called home for many months before closing the door and heading after her.  
  
  
  
*********************  
  
  
  
" We're gonna need some more Tryptophan" Zack said munching his breakfast flakes thoughtfully and drumming his fingers on the table where he and krit sat in the quiet of the kitchen eating " and we'd better stock up on first aid gear too" he added glancing at Krit who nodded taking a huge mouthful of his flakes. The morning had been quit slow considering their hurry, Krit had slept exhausted from the seizure and Zack had spent most of the time planning their attack, and putting the kitchen back together. " And lotsa' ammo" Krit added crunching "we're gonna need to get a lot of ammo before we hit Seattle. Should probably get Syl and Kai to pick some up for us on their way there" he suggested.  
  
Zack nodded, standing up. "Get in touch with them, see what they can dig up" he confirmed moving to pick up his backpack " I'm gonna head down to the hospice" he glanced at Krit, noting he was still a little shaky. "Get as much rest as you can," he said gently, throwing the backpack over his shoulder and heading towards the door. "You wont be getting any once this thing starts" he muttered as he left.  
  
Zack took a breath of the busy city air buzzing around him. This, this here was what he needed. He remembered back to being on the farm as Adam, he could never quite figure out why he had always been so edgy when he looked out at all the open space, the rolling mountains. Now as he made his way through the bustling streets he realized exactly what his mind, though unconsciously, had been missing. Always preferring the cities better, the busy streets and smog filled air had felt more at home to him than the open spaces ever had. It amazed him how Tess, and sometimes even Zane could stand it. Everytime he had had to move one of them, Tess especially, she had always requested some out of the way waterfront or mountain range home instead of the cities he and most of their other siblings preferred to inhabit. Frowning, thoughts of Tess brought Zack back to reality. He had to find her before he went back to Seattle. Remembering how Brin had been before she had gone back to Manticore worried the hell out of him when it came to imagining Tess, the youngest of the X5 group with a disease as fatal as this one, he just hoped that it wasn't that far progressed yet..  
  
Shaking the images from his head Zack shoved his hands into his pockets, his eyes zeroing in on the hospice ahead and he quickened his pace, slipping unnoticed and unhastled through the crowd.  
  
  
  
  
  
... 


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N - I seem to be saying sorry every time I write a chapter. but anyways I'm SORRY this took so long to write, now ive got a nu home, and best of all a nu puter! So hopefully the chapters will be written faster from now on :O) Now - Everyone cross your fingers and don't forget to review!  
  
Forgotten But Never Forgiven  
  
Chapter Eight.  
  
"No! Do not use her as a witness now Jake! Its way too soon, you have no idea what they've got left to throw at you!" Syl watched, bored, while Kai paced back and forth in the parking lot, talking avidly into his mobile phone.  
  
" Jake listen to me, I'm gonna be out of town for a few days, yes, that's right, family emergency" She saw him glance at her through the diner window and then glance at the sky where a hoverdrone could be seen slowly getting closer. "Jake the point is I'm going to need you to handle this case" he paused, beginning to walk towards the diner entrance. "And no fuck ups like last time and the Murphy case" he finished, hanging up and ducking inside just before the drone whirred past.  
  
Syl casually turned her face away from the window, pretending to look at the menu on the board, listening to the whirring of the machine as it passed by her. Turning back to her chips she smiled as Kai joined her once again, huffing noisily as he flopped into the seat. " That's it, the case has officially gone down the drain" he sighed eyeing Syls chips distastefully. "You nearly finished with that plate of oil?" he asked and then rolled his eyes as Syl slowly and deliberately brought a handful up to her mouth, closing her eyes and letting out an "Mmmm" as she munched.  
  
" Pretty much" She smiled sweetly at him, pushing her plate towards him and laughing as he took a handful.  
  
"Krit called while you were out there" she informed him " Said they were almost at Tess' last known address now."  
  
Kai nodded, munching. " Did you tell them we got the ammo? They haven't had any complications?"  
  
"Yep I did. And no, no complications."  
  
"Good" Kai nodded, wiping his hands and standing up. "We've got three more check points to get through so lets get going" he added, pulling on his jacket, and following Syl out the door.  
  
****************************  
  
Zack squinted in the harsh glare of the sunlight, pulling his baseball cap further over his eyes as he stepped out the door of the house and down the steps, glancing across the street to where Krit sat paper in hand, keeping lookout. Seeing Krit shake his head Zack then headed down the street taking in details as he walked, heading in the direction of the waterfront where a small market place existed.  
  
As far as he could tell looking at the street and surrounding areas there were no signs that Manticore had been anywhere near the place, and thinking back to Tess' empty apartment, there were no signs there to conclude that they had been there either, causing him to believe, or hope, if he really wanted to call it that, that though she was sick, she had managed to not get caught.  
  
Glancing to his right Zack straightened, staring at a magazine cover out the front of a store two blocks ahead .His gaze shifted to the top corner and he almost retracted his earlier thought, because there, in small but noticeable letters was the line " Ice woman seen in butchers freezer" As Zack got closer to the stand he read on, " Local butcher Mr Calding claims to have opened his freezer door only to find a young woman crouched in the corner among the meats. He also claims she got up and at quite a fast pace ran out the door"  
  
Zack swallowed hurriedly reading the last part, then, glancing across the other side of the market and meeting Krits gaze motioned him to a table next to the water.  
  
" She's not captured, yet" he said as soon as they were seated and Krit breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
" Just saw a story someone's got on an ice woman in their freezer yesterday that got away," he continued watching the people as they walked by. " If she's had to resort to cooling her temperature then she's not doing to well"  
  
Krit looked down at his hands, " Was Brin like that when you found her?" he asked, not looking up  
  
" She was pretty bad" was all Zack said, looking over at him. He had never really told any of them about what happened to Brin, or what went down in Seattle. They all knew of the disease, knew of what it meant, but seeing Brin that night in the cell showed just how vulnerable they all could really get. A vulnerability which none of them looked forward to.  
  
" It also means that she's still got to be around here somewhere," Zack added. He had casually gone back to scanning the crowd when his gaze came to rest on the fish markets, watching as young fishermen helped an older man tip a load of fish into a large  
  
container of ice. "Which means we should probably start looking at the nearest facilities using ice" he said thoughtfully. Following Zacks gaze Krit look looked over at the freezer and then back at him, understanding passing between the two men who both then got up, heading in the direction of the fish market.  
  
Taking the left isle Zack discreetly motioned for Krit to take the right, both men splitting up in separate directions and heading towards the back where they could see the freezers and things were kept. Forcing himself to walk slowly, even stopping twice to look at some of the displays, Zack reached the back dock and taking a last sweeping glance around he motioned to Krit to keep lookout before ducking in between the rows of containers.  
  
The smell of the newly caught fish accosted his senses and he quickly made his way around to the freezers. He watched as three workers walked up to one of the freezers and pulled out a bag of ice each, dumping them in a container in preparation for the fish. Looking around he counted three large freezers including the one the men were at and, being careful not to be seen he made his way over to the second one, stopping to grab a large pair of rubber gloves and an apron that was draped over a crate. Adorning both he stood up, pulling his baseball cap further over his eyes and walking over to the freezer door, pulling it wide only to be hit by a horrid fishy smell. Looking in Zack could see this was used to store the fisherman's bait, buckets of the stuff were haphazardly dumped around the place. 'Not a place Tess would go for' He thought, the soldier in him knowing that it was used way to often for her to stay hidden long anyway.  
  
"Hey man" Zack snapped his head around shutting the freezer door with a crash at the sound of the mans voice. A young man standing behind him with similar gloves and apron on laughed.  
  
"Good, I was beginning to think you'd got frozen to the spot"  
  
Zack quickly grinned, forcing himself into a relaxed stance." Sorry " he said  
  
" I'm kinda new at this and was just taking a look around" The man nodded, moving past Zack to open the door.  
  
" Its good to familiarize yourself with these here freezers" he said, lifting out a bucket of bait "This ones obviously the bait fridge" he offered then pointed to the one the men were getting the ice from " That one is where the prepared ice is kept ready, and that one" he turned, pointing to the third freezer, the largest of the lot, " If you thought this freezer was cold you wouldn't wanna stick your head in there" he laughed again "That's where they make the ice to begin with. They pump the water out of the bay onto these huge gallon drums, shove em in there for a few days, and bobs your uncle, ICE" He said smiling widely an turning back to Zack.  
  
"That one'll have icicles hanging off your nose in no time"  
  
Zack nodded and grinned and the guy clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past. "Gotta get this load 'a crap to the docks. See ya round" he waved walking off in the direction of the water, leaving Zack to stare thoughtfully at the third freezer. Looking around he saw Krit who met his gaze and shrugged, turning to analyze a box of crabs an old lady was desperately trying to sell to him, while Zack started towards the freezer.  
  
It was larger than the other two, almost like a small room, with two giant doors at the front, which, Zack mentally frowned, looked like they had just been freshly locked. Taking what looked like a stretched out paper clip from his pocket, he quickly opened the lock and stepping back pulled both doors open.  
  
Two ice bags fell at his feet while Zack paused, letting his eyes adjust to the lack of light in the box, and then he stepped forward, into the container, focusing on a huge pile of partially frozen bags stacked in the corner. He was about to reach for them when he heard a crackling sound behind him and in mid turn was jumped on and knocked forward into the ice, his assailant getting a firm grip around his neck, their legs and body pinning him to the ground.  
  
For a second they struggled, then Zack, feeling the attackers strength weaken managed to reach around and haul the person off his back, in turn shoving them into the ice and only just managed to pause mid punch.  
  
"Zack" Tess whispered up at him, a mixture of hope and confusion in her hazy gaze and Zacks own glare softened and he lowered his arm, breathing a sigh of relief.  
  
" Hey baby sis" he said soothingly, moving his weight off her he looked down at the wrinkled and aged face, her deep red hair almost totally covered by gray. She was breathing heavily, her small chest working overtime and hearing her wheeze Zack realized she was close to passing out from the effort. The sudden adrenalin rush of movement after being shut down for so long too much for her aged ridden body to handle.  
  
"We're here," he said softly "and we're going to get you out of here"  
  
Getting up he went to the door, signaling to Krit to move out and get transport. Turning back to Tess he gently lifted her to a standing position, placing an arm around her waist, the other securing her arm around his neck.  
  
" Tess you're gonna have to work with me here" he explained "You've got to help me out with a bit of the walking part, I just cant pick you up, it'll look too suss"  
  
He didn't hear her response through her ragged breathing but felt her legs move and take some of the weight as they moved toward the door. Looking out across the market he swore softly, his eyes coming to rest on a sector cop walking through the isles. Watching the cop turn and begin talking avidly to the lady that had been trying to sell to Krit moment earlier Zack moved them out. Looking left and seeing Krit pull a car round into the street they were half way there when he heard a shout a short distance over his shoulder. Glancing back while he quickened their pace he saw the guy he had talked to earlier point them out to the cop and realized he had seen them exit the freezer. Zack heard Tess whimper as they ran toward the car listening to the shouts getting louder behind them.  
  
With a screech of tires Krit pulled up infront of them, jumping out to help load Tess into the backseat, swearing as he saw the police car pull out into the street infront of them.  
  
" We've got a cop" he said hurriedly and jumped into the backseat as Zack climbed behind the wheel, slamming the gears in reverse. Cradling Tess, Krit held tight as Zack spun the car, now facing them forward and gunned the engine, speeding round corner after corner and gaining enough of a lead on the guy behind that they were able to pull into an offstreet unnoticed and wait till the chase passed them.  
  
" I have the biggest feeling of Deja Vu" Krit muttered, craning his head around to look out the window while Zack reversed again and continued in the opposite direction.  
  
" Really" Zack asked eyebrows raised  
  
" Yeh I remember watchin' a movie once and throwing popcorn at the screen when they pulled the same gig" Krit smirked, looking down at his sister, his fingers running gently through her graying hair.. 


	9. Chapter Nine

A/N Yup! It's another chapter!  
  
Forgotten But Never Forgiven  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
"What do you mean you haven't found anything yet?" Max asked, one hand holding her mobile to her ear, the other running an agitated hand through her hair as she passed back and fourth in the cleared locker area.  
  
On the other end of the phone Logan leaned forward in his chair, huffing while his fingers unconsciously scrubbed his face. "Max I just don't see what the big rush on finding him is" his brow furrowed as he heard her sigh.  
  
"I mean for all we know Zack could be halfway across the country by now. We are talking about the same man that has continued to evade Lydecker for the last 10 years" he reasoned  
  
"Did you at least look into the hospitals and motels I suggested?" asked Max hopefully " he had to have been through at least one of them on his way out of here"  
  
Logan was silent for so long Max was beginning to wonder if he was still there when he spoke again, his voice soft, as if explaining to a child. " Max you know I've been working on an important eyes only case for a while now and I cant just give it up on a whim you have about finding Zack, who, its seems might not even want to be found right now" He paused, hearing another agitated huff through the phone.  
  
"Besides, he said himself that he knows about what happened to him. He even mentioned my name and he didn't show up at my door step wanting to kill me again so that's got to be a plus right?" he soothed, hoping to calm her and maybe put her search on hold for a couple more days.  
  
Max rolled her eyes, trying to swallow her disappointment. "Okay whatever." She muttered  
  
"Logan I gotta go, Normals just popped another delivery package outta his ass" she finished, almost hanging up the phone before hearing Logan begin again  
  
"Okay but your still coming to the dinner tonight at my uncles place right?" he asked and hearing her hesitation he added " If he's in a good mood it could mean big things for Eyes Only"  
  
"Umm look about that" Max began, glancing at OC as she came striding into the locker room.  
  
" I wont actually be able to make it tonight. Normals got us working extra shifts, and I figured with all the days I've already had off I probably shouldn't bail on him tonight. He said something about a big client coming down I think" she trailed off, hearing Logans muttered "oh" in reply.  
  
" Look I gotta blaze" she reminded him, offering a small bye into the stunned silence before swiftly hanging up the phone, turning towards a skeptical Original Cindy who's hands had quickly risen to her hips, a "what the hell" eyebrow slowly raising higher and higher.  
  
"Ducking out on a date with your man?" Cindy asked incredulously "Doing overtime for Normal? Boo what tha hell's going on?" she moved over to where Max had flopped down onto the bench, sitting down beside her.  
  
" I dunno OC" Max said softly " I just got so frustrated"  
  
" I mean, the whole deal was that I help him with his Eyes Only stuff and he finds my family" She explained laying her head on her friends shoulder with a sigh " At least that's how it was when we started out. Then it got all emotional and things got really crazy and we didn't have time to look for them" she paused, a confused pout clouding her features  
  
"Now its like he just refuses to even try to look, even when I give him all the info he needs, its like he thinks its not that important anymore or something"  
  
"Sounds like you an' him need to sort out your issues" OC stated, nodding, and getting up to open her locker "I mean, you know your boy ain't down with Zack being anywhere near you. Especially since last time." She added looking at Max with a knowing stare  
  
" What's that supposed to mean? That Logan's not helping me because he's jealous or something?" Max got up starting to pace, her confused pout turning into a frustrated scowl. "Logan wouldn't do that, he knows how important finding my siblings is to me"  
  
"And besides, he not my Boy" She added, throwing an annoyed glare over her shoulder at OC, rolling her eyes when OC laughed, she tried again  
  
"Logan and I.."  
  
"Aren't like that" OC finished for her, shaking her head "Just looks to me like the, ah, emotional issues ." she continued, picking her words carefully "Between you and Logan have risen since you got back from your little stay at ya parents place. I don't think Logan is above being jealous of the guy who the last time was near you wasn't afraid to show his feelings" OC shrugged hearing Max sigh loudly  
  
" I don't care what Logans playing at right now OC" she said, turning towards her friend "all I know is I have to find Zack, and the others. Im so close I can almost smell them, and Zack said they were in trouble. Tell me how I can just stand back and not help the only people in this world that I have loved and cared about since I could breathe?" she said softly  
  
" I know boo," OC said, reaching out to hug her friend "Maybe its time to leave Logan outta this" she replied " and go do what you gotta do"  
  
***************************  
  
She listened as the black rope slapped down onto the shiny floor of the apartment below. Quickly sliding down from her position on the edge of the skylight she landed in a graceful crouch, all senses on high alert. Gathering her things Max looked about Logan's now empty apartment and dumping her gear on the couch she headed straight to the computer, knowing Logan was at the family dinner all night she sat down and began to type.  
  
Max figured as the Wyoming facility was still operational that it would be the first place Manticore would possibly take her siblings, and setting up a base in the Wyoming district would be the first thing Zack would do. She also figured that dependant on the op, supplies would need to be gathered, tryptophan would need to be scrounged and on a whim that because of the urgency of the situation, one of them could get sloppy, hacking into the hoverdrone mainframe would be worth a try.  
  
Smiling Max set to work, her fingers flying over keys the only things making a sound in the dark apartment.  
  
*******************************  
  
"Everything's set up? Ok ETA five minutes" Krit snapped his phone shut glancing over at Tess who slept on the seat next to him, her ragged breathing filling the car.  
  
"Kai and Syl have secured a place," He explained, seeing Zack nod from the drivers seat "Over on 6th street, it's on the opposite side to where the Facility is but it's secure"  
  
"They've got the ice ready?" Zack asked, his eyes on the sector checkpoint ahead  
  
"Ready and waiting" Krit confirmed.  
  
They had been driving non-stop, their trek to Wyoming hindered only by Tess' fading condition and the frequent stopping to get more ice. Krit frowned, looking down at his soaked clothes. "I cant wait to get out of this car" he heard Zack grumble, stretching as they waited their turn to pass through the checkpoint. Krit nodded "First thing I'm doing is having a nice warm shower" he said "No offense Tess but I'm freezing" he smiled softly down at the sleeping form, looking up as Zack showed his Jam pony badge to the sector cop, given the ok they increased their speed, entering the last sector of their trip.  
  
" We're almost there sis" Zack heard Krit murmur.  
  
"Zack we're gonna need something more than ice to cure this, any ideas yet?" Krit spoke up moments later, his gaze meeting Zacks in the rear mirror. Zack glanced back a Tess, his mind instead seeing Brins aged face staring back at him, hearing her wheezing plea "Please, don't let me die"  
  
"I'm working on it" He muttered, the car lurching as they sped round another corner.  
  
**************************  
  
A/N : Ok so please don't flame me for my writing of Logan. I worried over that whole phone conversation for so long. But as far as I could see, it was the only thing I could come up with for mentioning him but also keeping him out of the main story line. I don't have anything against the guy, I'd just rather concentrate on the X5's and things. 


	10. Chapter Ten

Forgotten But Never Forgiven  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Max sat back on her bike, rolling her shoulders and pulling a picture out of her pocket. From her little visit to Logan's she had managed to pull a hoverdrone file covering the last week's movements throughout the Seattle and Wyoming districts and had come across one frame in particular that had gotten her interest. It was of a diner, taken on one of the lesser known routes out of sector three of Wyoming of which there was one person in particular, who had her back to the drone, that looked very much like the back Syls head. Thinking back to the last time Max had seen Syl she figured that from this girls height sitting in the seat of the diner it would be a close match, that plus the fact that Max herself had dodged many a drone in her time to realize that this girl wasn't in fact looking at the menu like she was portrayed to be but was really looking slightly to the left of it, one wary eye on the doorway of the diner.  
  
The only other information Max had come across that could have been related to her siblings had been a report from a hospice two days after Zack had come to see her outside crash. The report had been for a large order of Tryptophan as their supplies had been stolen earlier that day. It was a long shot but that plus the picture of Syl taken only yesterday morning led Max to hope that she was on the right track, and that by starting her search at the end of sector three close to where Syl had stopped, she could maybe dig up something fresher.  
  
Sighing Max folded the picture back up, her thoughts drifting back to the scene outside Crash only three nights ago, and Zack's furious confrontation. Never in a million years would she have imagined he would look at her the way he had, the mixture of disappointment, anger and hurt gracing his hard features was more powerful than a slap in the face could ever had been, pulling max away from her thoughts of Seattle and her job and Logan, and focusing them on the bigger picture, Manticore, her barcode, and her siblings. Looking up into Zacks face that night had stirred a buried fear deep down in her stomach. The fact that Zack had come to see her for information meant that he'd had nowhere else to go, and that something terrible must have happened to the others, and it scared the hell out of Max. God she hoped they were ok. If one of them were killed because of this she would never forgive herself. She remembered Zack saying Tess was also sick, and her mind replayed the last time she had seen Brin, remembering her sickness, remembering Zack, his grief as he had wept as she herself had when they had left Brin there, on that park bench.  
  
Her thoughts returning to the task at hand Max swallowed. She knew she had to find them. Zack would be angry, that was a given, but she would be damned if he thought she was just going to sit back and not do anything to help.  
  
Sighing Max shook her head, clearing her thoughts she looked up at the road in front of her. She figured she was getting close, and praying that luck was on her side Max kicked up the bike stand and pulled out from the curb.  
  
Pulling up at an intersection, minutes later Max paused as her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of a speeding car coming her way and frowning she sat back on her bike, deciding to wait until the fool had passed before pulling out. Having an inpatient idiot up her ass the whole way wasn't Max's idea of fun.  
  
She didn't have to wait long till an old Merc came speeding round the corner in front of her she began to fold her arms only to stop mid glare as the car sped past her. Catching a glimpse of the fair haired male driver Max's jaw dropped, and, eyes glued to the back of the merc she pulled out and followed it, mentally slicing off a piece of cake to save for later.  
  
*************************  
  
"They're here" Syl called, hearing the sound of Zack quickly maneuvering the car to a park five houses down. Their morning had been pretty uneventful, both Syl and Kai readying the abandoned two bedroomed flat they had chosen for the invasion of their siblings. They would need to do at least one job tonight, to attain the essentials, Kai had managed to redirect an electricity route which would supply them with enough for their stay and Syl had set to work on the water and had gathered ice from a local service station, which now sat ready in the bath.  
  
Now both her and Kai moved towards the front door to meet Zack halfway, Syl stepping aside to let him through, her beaming smile fading as her gaze flicked over the limp form of Tess in his arms. Then hearing another set of footsteps she turned, wrapping her arms around Krit who had entered the house, in a warming embrace.  
  
Krit sighed, relaxing into her and pulled her closer, breathing in her warm scent. "Hey Beautiful"  
  
"I missed you" suddenly overcome with a fear she had often felt when thinking about the others Syl tightened her grip on him and Krit began to rub her back soothingly.  
  
"Its ok, I'm ok, Zack's ok, and Tess. well Tess will be fine" He finished, kissing her softly on the lips and pulling back, looking sincerely into Syls deep blue eyes.  
  
"We will get through this" he assured her.  
  
Taking a deep calming breath Syl leaned forward, kissing him again before turning out of his arms, both following in the direction Zack and Kai had taken.  
  
********************  
  
Max pulled quietly into the curb a distance away from where the rusty merc had parked and watched silently as Zack got out of the drivers seat, going round and opening the back door and lifting what looked like an old woman out, her body hanging limp in his arms.  
  
Her eyes flicking to the opening house door a couple of driveways down Max saw Syl emerge, her face somber as Zack walked past, then flinging her arms around Krit, she hugged him fiercely, and, after a moment they too turned, retreating back into the house.  
  
Max took a deep breath, surprised at how nervous she felt. After all, these were her brothers and sisters, people she loved and trusted - and people- a little niggling voice told her - who if it weren't for you wouldn't be in this mess. - Pausing a beat Max frowned, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. Either way, she wanted to help them she thought, squaring her shoulders she swung off her bike and walked determinedly toward the house...  
  
************************  
  
They were gathered in the living room when Max walked through the door. Three outstretched arms each holding a clean cold gun readily pointing toward the tiny gap between her eyes as she faced them. She paused, frozen in the doorway as three sets of eyes slowly focused on her face.  
  
Krit was the first to move, swiftly tucking away his gun and moving over to her, enveloping her in a huge hug, mumbling "hey Maxie" into her hair.  
  
"Krit" she smiled, her worry and uncertainty ebbing she felt his strong arms wrap around her, and relaxing, she returned the hug breathing in her brothers scent, the smell momentarily bringing thoughts of the last time they were together into her mind. Smiling over his shoulder at Syl, who grinned back, holstering her gun Max's gaze shifted and she noticed the tall red haired man move swiftly toward the window, his glance searching the surrounding neighborhood while his gun remained trained on her.  
  
"I'm clean if that's what your wondering" she said abruptly, pulling roughly away from Krit and glaring at the stranger who then turned towards her, a wide smile illuminating his familiar grey eyes.  
  
" Just checking little sister," he said, reaching round and tucking his gun into the back of his pants.  
  
Max stared at him a moment longer, the words 'little sister' echoing through her head as his piercing grey eyes took her on a walk down memory lane.  
  
*"State you designation soldier"*  
  
*Flashes of a stony child's face, grey eyes cold, mouth set and stance strong and focused*  
  
*"X5-698 Sir"*  
  
"You haven't changed a bit" Max laughed, moving over to give her brother a hug then turning to do the same for Syl.  
  
"By the sound of it, neither have you" She heard Kai reply.  
  
Sighing she stepped away from Syl, holding each other at arms length they smiled, a wave of emotion washing over both and Syl chuckled thickly "it been a while" Max just managing to nod as she pulled her sister in for another hug, both sisters teary eyed with wide grins adorning their features.  
  
There was a movement off to their right and Max froze, all four x5's turning to find Zack standing at the other entrance to the room. Taking one look at his stormy gaze Max steeled herself for what was to come, and, his voice low and dangerous, Zack growled "What are you doing here Max?"  
  
Max turned to face him, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders she retorted,  
  
"I heard there was a party and I got sick of waiting for an invite" She shot him a level glare, her soft regretful eyes giving away her true feelings.  
  
"Hope you don't mind me crashing" she shrugged, moving her arms in a wide gesture of the room around her.  
  
The tension in the room had thickened, the three other siblings casting confused glances between the two while Zack remained standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable. "Unfortunately Max, I don't like gatecrashers, so you can turn around and go back to your precious Seattle" He said, his voice low and forceful.  
  
Syl stepped forward, thoroughly confused at Zack telling Max to go, she was about to contest him when Max cut in, all traces of the witty sarcasm gone her voice took on a pleading tone, and she stepped closer to him.  
  
"Zack I know what I did was terrible and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I also know that something's going down, and I want to be able to help," she explained, her eyes never leaving his in her attempt to get some sort of positive reaction out of him.  
  
"This is obviously some sort of rescue attempt" she added, indicating the three X5's behind them, "I can help, I want to help" she ended, raising her chin as she stared at him defiantly.  
  
"And what makes you think that I need your help?" Zack said quickly moving forward till there was barely any space between them, his cold furious eyes staring down at her.  
  
"What makes you think that after everything you've done, after everything you've put us through, I'm just going to let you back in, let you go on playing the good little X5 sister when it was you who put Johndy and Zanes lives on the line in the first place?"  
  
She could see the barely contained fury simmering behind the ice blue of his eyes and she longed to look away, to flinch and hang her head, step away from his towering presence but she couldn't let herself. Instead she returned the glare, her jaw set stubbornly.  
  
"Zack I know as well as you do that your gonna need as many people on this thing as you can get. And I have contacts that can get us into the right places"  
  
"Contacts?" Zack cut in "Is that what you call the great computer hack, roller boy, love of your life these days huh Max?" He growled, and Max, giving up, looked away from his stare and tried her last tactic,  
  
"I have a doctor that can help Tess" She murmured and Zack stepped back, becoming silent for a minute.  
  
"What kind of doctor?" Syl asked, and Max and Zack started, both having forgotten the three standing behind them until Syl spoke. "How much does he know about us and this disease?" She continued, glancing from Max to Zack.  
  
"He knows a bit about us" Max answered, throwing a last glance at Zack she turned towards Syl. "If we brought him up to speed with regards to the virus he'd be able to help find a cure" she explained and Syl nodded, turning back to Zack.  
  
"I have no idea what's going on between you two, but she has a point Zack" she said, continuing on before he could respond, "We really do need as many people as we can get, and, if this doctor really can help I think we'd be cutting ourselves off at the knee if we didn't take up the offer" Syl concluded.  
  
"I agree Zack" Kai nodded, still standing at the window.  
  
"At the very least she's another pair of hands that can fire a weapon" Krit spoke up and Zack, after having glared at each one in turn returned his gaze back to Max.  
  
"Fine" he growled, locking stony gazes with her once again.  
  
"But I want you to understand Max. I want you to stand there and listen carefully for once to what I'm telling you. This is not just your life on the line here but the lives of every single brother and sister you have. We're all here, fighting alongside you and if you make one more little mistake, step out of line or change plans midway, it'll not only get you killed, but it will kill the rest of us too" His steady low voice sent a chill through the room and for the first time Max realized just how much of a leader Zack was, how strong, how smart, and how caring he was, and just how much she had always underestimated him in the past.  
  
"I want you to think long and hard about that fact Max," he continued, his gaze never leaving hers  
  
"Are you sure you are ready to jump on the bandwagon? To help us in our little crusade?" Zack asked and then paused,  
  
"Are you ready to take orders from me Max?"  
  
There was a long pause, and the entire room stood still as Max and Zack remained staring, neither moving their gaze from the other.  
  
And then Max spoke, "I am" loudly and firmly, and, standing there she realized that she meant it.. 


End file.
